High Hopes, The Adventures of an Engineer

The last hundred years have witnessed a spectacular advance in many areas of technology. Developments in the fields of transportation and communication have been staggering and have changed the way we live and work. This book traces the life of one individual, Jack I. Hope, who was deeply involved in the development of such products during the last half of the 20th century. It follows his activities from childhood through his education in engineering to his involvement in major technical programs for national and international companies and government. These developments include advanced aircraft engines, nuclear aircraft engines, advanced military aircraft, advanced commercial automotive engines, technology support in the White House and management of an international joint venture to develop and produce a new aircraft engine. This engine turned out to be the best-selling commercial jet engine in history, the CFM-56. Along the way, Hope's love for airplanes and what makes them work, and his knack as an idea man and developer let him rub elbows with the famous and be privy to some of the great minds of the century. In addition to an inside view of the specific projects and technological breakthroughs Jack was involved in, the book gives insights on such things as:• The process of engine design itself• The management of, and enhancement of the design process• Business issues and concerns that often affect design and its implementation • Political issues that can do the same• Design and business management in the face of national differences• Practical knowhow, ingenuity, and courage vs. advanced degrees and "book learning"• The attitude and ethics that enabled many twentieth-century advances to be madeMr. Hope makes his home in Southern Ohio, where his ancestors were among the earliest settlers when the US population moved west in the early nineteenth century.